Con-Fog: Consensus-Driven Fog Node Selection in FU-Serve Platform for IoT Applications

The rapid expansion of Internet of Things (IoT) devices and applications necessitates the need for more efficient computational and data management strategies. The fog-enabled UAV-as-a-Service (FU-Serve) platform addresses these demands by integrating fog computing to enhance the operational efficiency of UAVs in IoT environments. Despite its advantages, the FU-Serve platform faces significant challenges, including data transmission latency, resource allocation, and energy management, contributing to the underutilization of UAVs and fog nodes. To address these challenges, this article introduces a consensus-driven approach, Con-Fog, that optimizes the selection of fog nodes for UAVs within the FU-Serve platform. Con-Fog evaluates potential fog nodes within the communication range by computing utility values based on geographical distance, link quality, available computational resources, and residual energy. UAVs rank these nodes according to their utility values and select the most suitable ones through a consensus-based approach, ensuring alignment with the operational demands of IoT devices. Additionally, we apply an optimal best-fit algorithm to refine fog node allocation, maximizing resource utilization while keeping it below each node’s capacity threshold $(\mathcal {T}\%)$ . Our simulation results show that Con-Fog significantly enhances key IoT performance metrics. Transmission time and the number of unassigned UAVs decrease by 10%–30% and 20%–40%, respectively, while residual energy increases by 30%–50% compared to existing systems. These improvements enhance the management of UAV and fog node resources, thereby advancing the effectiveness of IoT applications within the FU-Serve platform.